Non slip retention means for use on a wearer s head

ABSTRACT

A non-slip head gear and a retainer employing the same, the head gear being characterized by a cap means having a hook strip on its interior surface with its tiny hooks protruding interiorly for engagement with the hair of the wearer and having an exterior strip of pile strap with its loops protruding exteriorly for receiving mating hook strips that are connected with other elements such as a retainer body. The retainer body is characterized by net material that is elastic along the fiber of the net and is even more elastic along the bias of the fiber for conforming to irregular contours. Also disclosed are preferred embodiments in which the exterior strips of pile strap are extensive enough to allow attachment of a wide variety of hook strip configurations; wherein a plurality of hook strips are fixedly disposed at predetermined locations for a predetermined hook strip configuration; and wherein neck straps are attached to the retainer body for tensioning it rearwardly toward the rear of the neck, the neck straps having mating hook strips and pile straps on their respective free ends.

United States Patent 1 Morgan 1 1 NON-SLIP RETENTION MEANS FOR USE ON AWEARER'S HEAD Willis Ema Morgan, 4225 Birchman Avenue, Fort Worth, Tex.79107 Filed: Nov. 8, 1971 Appl. No.: 196,385

Related US. Application Data Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 58,435,July 27, 1970, abandoned.

[76] Inventor:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1912 Bender 128/164 9/1914Gundcrman 128/164 1,938,554 12/1933 Ager 128/76 X 1,963,237 6/1934Knauth 128/163 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 960,343 6/1964 GreatBritain 128/171 June 26, 1973 Primary Examiner-Richard A. GaudetAssistant Examiner-J.'Yasko Attorney.William T. Wo tl'ord, James C.Fails et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A non-slip head gear and a retainer employing the same,the head gear being characterized by a cap means having a hook strip onits interior surface with its tiny hooks protruding interiorly forengagement with the hair of the wearer and having an exterior strip ofpile strap with its loops protruding ext: riorly for receiving matinghook strips that are connected with other elements such as a retainervbody. The retainer body is characterized by net material that is elasticalong the fiber of the net and is even more elastic along the bias ofthe fiber for conforming to irregular contours.v Also disclosed arepreferred embodiments in which the exterior strips of pile strap areextensive enough to allow attachment of a wide variety of hook stripconfigurations; wherein a plurality of hook strips are fixedly disposedat predetermined locations for a predetermined hook strip configuration;and wherein neck straps are attached to the retainer body for tensioningit rearwardly toward the rear of the neck, the neck straps having matinghook strips and pile straps on their respective free ends.

14 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures NON-SLIP RETENTION MEANS FOR USE ON AWEARER'S HEAD CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 58,435, filed July 27,1970, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to retention means for use on the head of a wearer. Moreparticularly, it relates to non-slip head gear; and a retainer that is acombination of the non-slip head gear and a retainer body means; for usein applications such as supporting in cosmetic applications, andretaining bandages in place following surgery on or about the head andface of a patient.

2. Description of the Prior Art A wide variety of cosmetic retainers andof bandage structures and retainers have been employed for emplacingabout a wearers head. These structures have ranged from the difficultlyaffixed tape and absorbent material that are emplaced following surgery,through head halters for use in cervical traction devices, to elaboratebeauty masks of a three-piece hood with elastic nets, chin pieces andthe like; and have included correctors for correcting mouth breathersand snorers. None of the prior art devices have been totallysatisfactory in that they had one or more of the defects of (1)encompassing the face and head of the wearer with attendant discomfort,(2) requiring elaborate straps and buckle arrangements for adjustingtothe size of the head and neck of the wearer, or causing difficulty inemplacement and removal.

Moreover, the structures of the prior art were prone to slip unless theywere connected to an external source such as a weight forcervicaltraction. If the prior art structures were holding a bandage and allowedslipping, there was a danger of opening a wound, and possibly ultimatelycausing an undesirable scar following means and a plurality of fixedlydisposed exterior strips of pile strap on the cap means.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS It is a primary object of thisinvention to obviate the disadvantages of the prior art structures andto provide a head gear having the structure that facilitates attachmentof additional elements and that may be emplaced on a wearers head tosupport the additional elements without slipping.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a retainer that may beemployed in a wide variety of uses; such as, cosmetic applications, andretaining bandages in place following surgery; the retainer having ahead gear that may be emplaced on a wearers head and engage the wearershair to prevent slipping; a conformably shapable retainer body means;and interconnecting straps that can be removably attached to the headgear at a plurality of locations for size and tension adjustment bysimply pressing to attach or pulling to release; the straps therebyfacilitating emplacement regardless of the size of the wearers head andfacilitating cosmetic surgery. Such a potential liability has requiredstringent safety precautions by the surgeons and made a slip-proofbandage retainer of practical significance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view ofthe combination retainer in accordance with one embodiment of thisinvention. I

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a head gear means of the embodiment of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the head gear of the embodiment ofFIG. 1.

F 16.4 is a plan view from the'top of the retainer body means of theembodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention employing asimple skull cap means and a plurality of fixedly disposed exteriorstrips of pile'strap on the cap means.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational'view of a combination retainer inaccordance with another embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 7is a side elevational view of the head gear of the embodiment ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a plan view from the top of the retainer body means of theembodiment of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the inventionemploying a simpleskull cap removal, yet leaving a large portion of thewearers head exposed for greater comfort.

Referring to the figures and particularly to FIG. 1, retainer 11comprises non-slip head gear 13; retainer body means 15 and a pluralityof straps 17 that are connected'at one end with the retainer body meansand have, at their other end, first hook strips for removably engagingthe head gear 13. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the retainer 11 may beemployed for cosmetic applications such as uplift of the chin andsagging facial muscles or for retaining a bandage in place followingsurgery on or about the 'face and head of the wearer. For example,suitable bandages may be emplaced around the lower portion of the facefollowing cosmetic surgery and held in place. Alternatively, bandagessuch as ear bandages, illustrated by dashed line 19, may be held inplace following ear surgery.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the head gear 13 comprises a cap means 21; atleast one hook strip 23 fixedly disposed on the interior surface of thecap means and at least one exterior strip of pile strap 25 fixedlydisposed on the exterior of the cap means 21. The cap means 21 may takeany form but preferably has an area of at least about 8 square inches tominimize the concentration of stress in supporting the retainer bodymeans and alleviating a tendency to give the wearer a headache.Preferred forms of construction of the cap means are illustrated inFIGS. 1 and '5. In FIG. 1 the cap means comprises a conventionalsurgical cap onto which the hook strip 23 and the pile straps 25 havebeen sewed. The surgical cap may have drawstrings 30 for being drawn tofit a particular head size. On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 5,a skull cap that covers the top and rear portion of the head may beemployed. It is preferable that the cap means have a pesudo-sphericalstructure as effected by having darts sewed into a flat piece ofmaterial of the desired dimensions.

The cap means has either a hook strip disposed on its interior or a pilestrap disposed on its exterior. Preferably it has both. Specifically,the cap means has at least one hook strip 23, FIG. 2 disposed on theinterior surface of the cap means. The hook strip 23 includes a fabricbacking; such as, dimensionally stable woven nylon fabric backing; witha plurality of tiny hook elements 29 protruding interiorly forengagement with hair of a person wearing the head gear forpreventingslipping of the head gear. If desired, a plurality of hook strips may beemployed, scattered on the top and sides of the cap means for moreeffectively engaging the hair of the wearer and preventing slipping.Ordinarily, however, a single hook strip in the top of the cap issufficient. The absence of the hook strips on the side of the cap meansalleviates the problem of disengaging the cap means from the wearershair. At least one exterior strip of pile strap 25, FIG. 3, is disposedon at least one exterior side of the cap means. Preferably, at least oneexterior strip of pile strap is disposed along each side of the capmeans and the strip of pile strap is extensive enough to affordacontinuous band for receiving a wide variety of hook stripconfigurations to allow utmost flexibility in adjusting the tension on aretainer body means 15.

I As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pile strap extends along the entire sideband along each side of the cap means 21. Each of the pile straps may besewed or otherwise attached to the side of the cap means. The pilestraps include a dimensionally stable woven nylon fabric backinghaving aplurality of upstanding loops 31. of fine threads or other filamentarymaterial extending outwardly for receiving a hook strip of anotherelement in removably fastened relationship. The .loops 31 are adapted toengage the hook elements 29 when pressed together to prevent relativemotionlaterally along the respective backing elements. Because of thesomewhat resilient construction of the hook elements 29 and the loops31, however, the hook strips may be readily pulled outwardly todisengage the pile straps about as easily as they were pushed togetherfor being fastened together. The'hook strips and pile straps arecommercially available under the trade name Velcro and are describedinU. S. Pat. No. 2,717,437 issued Sept. 13, 1955. Accordingly, nofurther detailed description is necessary herein.

Instead of having a substantially continuous pile strap along the cap, aplurality of individual pile straps may be fixedly disposed along thesides of the cap means at predetermined locations, as illustrated inFIG. 5, to facilitate removably affixing straps by less experiencedpersonnel when the straps are part of a predetermined configuration suchas may be employed for relatively standardized operations.

Referring to FIG. 4, the retainer body means has I a mid section 35 thatis adapted for being emplaced about and beneath the wearer's chin. Thebody means 15 has connected with the mid section 35 at least onebifurcated end structure defining two terminal strips 37 and 39 forbeing emplaced on both forward and rearward sides of an ear 31.Preferably, the retainer body means 15 is formed of a net-like materialthat is aerated to prevent unnecessary restriction to the escape ofavailable commercially under the trade name Spandex.

Other suitable net materials are known in the art. For someapplications, as for throat surgery, it is preferable that the retainerbody means 15 have a mid section 35 that is extensive enough to effectaneck portion 43, as

- illustrated in FIG. 5, for extending downwardly on the wearers neck.

is at least one'strip 17 affixed to each of the terminal strips 37 and39 to facilitate shaping the retainer body means to best do its supportjob on the particular wearer, be the job cosmetic support or bandageretention.

If desired, a plurality of straps 17 may be affixed to the forwardterminal strip 37 and only a single strip 17 affixed to the rearwardterminal strip 39, as illustrated in FIG. 1. On the other hand, asillustrated in FIG. 5, a plurality of straps 17 may be affixed to boththe forward terminal strip 37 and the rearward terminal strip 39 forbetter establishment of the requisite tension and contour. With theplurality of straps 17 connected with each of the terminal strips of thebifurcated ends, it is advantageous to have a continuous exterior stripof pile strap 25 for greatest flexibility; although; as indicatedhereinbefore, where certain relatively standardized operations are to beperformed, a plurality of fixed exterior strips of pile strap,illustrated by pile straps 25a and 25b, may be employed.

It is ordinarily necessary that at least one pair of neck straps 51 beconnected at one of their ends with the retainer body means at the lowerside of its ends for pulling the retainer body means 15 toward the rearof the neck to obtain the desired conformity with facial contours. Oneof the pair of neck straps 5 1 will have a hook strip 55 disposed at itsfree end and the other of the pair of neck straps will have a pile strap57 disposed at its free end.

The hook strip 55 and the pile strap 57 are so disposed on theirrespective neck straps 51 that the pair of neck straps can be removablyfastened together by pressing them together. The hook strip and neckstrap are extensive enough in coverage and so located on respective neckstraps 51 as to enable effecting a desired degree of tension in theretainer body means rearward toward the rear of the neck for a pluralityof sizes of necks. This may advantageously be effected by having themore extensive area of either the hook strip or the pile strap on theexterior of the internal neck strap 51, illustrated by pile strap 57, toprevent the internally protruding hooks or loops from irritating theneck of the wearer.

The elements of the head gear, the retainer body means, the straps, andthe hookstrips and pile straps may be assembled as illustrated by anyconventional method. Ordinarily, sewing is an economical andsatisfactory method of assembling the respective elements, since theycan be thus laundered or cleaned without having to disassemblemechanical components such as snaps or buckles. Other than the specialmaterials described hereinbefore, materials ordinarily employed in thisart are satisfactory in manufacturing this invention.

Other embodiments of this invention are illustrated in FIGS. 6-9.Therein, the combination comprises the head gear 13; retainer body means15 and a plurality of straps 17. As can be seen in FIG. 7, the head gear13 is very similar to the head gear illustrated in FIG. 3. If desired,the hook strip 23 may be omitted from the interior of the cap means 21where the draw strings 30 and relatively balanced tension on theretainer body means form a staisfactory non-slip means. Such a structurealleviates any problems of having to disengage the hooks of the hookstrip 23 from the hair of a patient. The cap means 21 still has the pilestrap disposed on its exterior as described hereinbefore. The exteriorpile strap 25 facilitates the attachment of the ends of the straps 17for holding the retainer body means 15 taut. Suitable disposable capmeans 21 that may be made of paper or economical cloth-like materialsare currently commercially available and facilitate making and usingdisposable head gear; particularly, when employed in conjunction withVelcro pile straps having adhesive backing as described hereinafter.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the body retainer means 15 and the straps 17are integrally connected by virtue of being an integral piece that iscut from a piece of the net-like, elastic material, such as the Spandexmaterial, without requiring any sewing or other means of attachment;thereby keeping the cost extremely low. As illustrated, the retainerbody means 15 has its respective ends 62 and 64 of one-piececonstruction to facilitate retention in place of bandages or the likesuch as illustrated in dashed lines 66, FIG. 6. The illustratedconstruction has also been found to be more comfortable in a variety ofapplications. The plurality of straps 17 may be arranged with anydesired number on each side; for example, with three in accordance withFIG. 6 or with four in accordance with FIG. 9. The straps 17 of FIG. 8may be shorter than the dimensionally stable straps 17 of FIG. 1, sincethe end 62 is not bifurcated, and extends higher, and since the strapsare made of the stretchable Spandex material. The straps 17 havedisposed at their outer ends at least one hook strip 49 for removablyengaging with the exterior pile strap 25 on the cap means 21, asdescribed hereinbefore. Similarly, the neck straps will have a pilestrap 57 disposed at one free end and a hook strip 55 disposed at itsother free end, arranged as described hereinbefore to minimizeirritation of the neck of the wearer.

While any of the means described hereinbefore for affixing the hookstrip or the pile strap of the Velcro material to their respectiveareas; such as, at the ends of the straps 17 or the side of the capmeans 21; a new means has recently become commercially available. Thenew Velcro material has an adhesive backing that is covered by aremovable tab. Its manufacturers claim that the adhesive backing willadhere strongly enough that even with a material like the Spandex straps17, the'adhesion will be adequate to hold the desired tension of theretainer body means 15 for its purpose in this invention; for example,bandage retention or cosmetic lift. If the degree of adhesion issatisfactory, further reductions in cost and convenience indisposability may be effected. I have found it preferable, heretofore,to provide a more positive means of interconnection between therespective end strips 49 and the straps 17, as by sewing or stapling,however.

From the foregoing descriptive matter and the drawings, it can be seenthat this invention obviates the disadvantages of the prior art andaccomplishes the objects enumerated hereinbefore. Specifically, itprovides a head gear that has structure for engaging the hair of thewearer and preventing slipping and that has an external meansfacilitating attachment of additional elements by merely pushing toattach and pulling to detach. Furthermore, this invention provides aretainer that may be employed in a wide variety of applications; suchas, cosmetic applications and retaining bandages in place followingsurgery; the retainer having, in a particular embodiment, a head gear:

1. that may be emplaced on a wearers head and engage the wearers hair toprevent slipping, having a conformably shapable retainer body means, andhaving interconnecting strap means that leave a large portion of thewearers head unencumbered for greater comfort, and

2. that can be removably attached to the retainer at a plurality oflocations for size and tension adjustment by simply pressing to attachor pulling to release, thereby facilitating emplacement regardless ofthe size of the wearers head, and facilitating removal for replacementof bandages or the like.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, it is understood that the present disclosure is made onlyby way of example and that numerous changes in the details ofconstruction and the combination and arrangement of parts maybe resortedto without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: Y

1. A retainer adapted for emplacement about the head of a wearer for usein cosmetic applications, in retaining bandages in place followingsurgery about the head and face of a patient, and the like; the retainercomprising:

a. a non-slip head gear including:

i. a cap means adapted for fitting a plurality of head sizes;

ii. atleast one hook strip disposed on the interior of said cap means,said hook strip having a plurality of tiny hook elements protrudinginteriorly for engagement with hair of a person wearing said head gearfor preventing slipping thereof;

and 7 iii. at least one exterior strip of pile strap disposed on atleast one exterior side of said cap; said pile strap having a pluralityof upstanding loops of filamentary material extending outwardly forreceiving a hooked strip on straps in removably fastened relationship;

b. retainer body means having a mid section adapted for being emplacedabout and beneath a chin of said wearer and having connected therewithat least one end structure defining a terminal strip for being emplacedadjacent one of a wearers ears; said body means being formed of a netthat has elasticity along its respective fibers and greater elasticityalong the bias of the fibers for being conformed to irregular contours;and

c. a plurality of straps connected at one end with said retainer bodymeans and having disposed at the other end at least one hook stripremovably engaging said exterior pile strap on said cap means; at leastone each of said plurality of straps being connected with each terminalstrip defined by said end structure.

2. The retainer of claim 1 wherein a pair of neck straps are connectedat one end with said retainer body means, one of said pair of neckstraps having a hook strip disposed at its free end and the other ofsaid pair of neck straps having a pile strap disposed at its free end,said hook strip and said pile strap being so disposed on theirrespective straps of said pair of neck straps as to be removablyfastened by pressing together, said hook strip and said pile strapsbeing extensive enough and being so located asto enable effecting adesired degree of tension in said retainer body means rearward towardthe rear of the wearers neck for a plurality of sizes of necks. I

3. The retainer of claim 1 wherein at least one end of said bodyretainer means has a bifurcated end structure defining two terminalstrips for being employed on both forward and rearward sides of thewearers ear.

4. The retainer of claim 1 wherein a plurality of said straps areconnected with each terminal end for greater flexibility in encompassingand retaining in place a bandage following surgery.

5. The retainer of claim 1 wherein said retainer body means and saidplurality of straps are integrally connected together. I

6. The retainer of claim 1 wherein said terminal strip of said retainerbody means covers the wearers ear.

7. The retainer of claim 6 wherein said body retainer means has both ofits ends extending to cover'both of the wearer's ears.

8. The retainer of claim 1 wherein said retainer body means is extensiveenough at its mid section to effect a neck portion for extendingdownwardly on the wearers neck.

9. The retainer of claim 1 wherein said cap means has a plurality ofhook strips disposed on its interior for engagement with the'hair of aperson wearing it.

10. The retainer of claim'l wherein said cap means has a plurality ofpile straps disposed on its exterior.

configurations such as formed by having a pile strap connected with eachterminal end of said retainer body means,

12. The retainer of claim 11 wherein said cap means has a plurality ofexterior strips of pile strap fixedly disposed along each side atpredetermined locations for receiving a predetermined hook stripconfiguration.

13. The retainer of claim 1 wherein said cap means has an area of atleast 8 square inches for being disposed over the top and rearwardportion of the wearers head to lessen the stress concentration andalleviate the tendency to cause headaches.

14. The retainer of claim 1 wherein each end of said retainer bodymeanshas a bifurcated end structure defining two terminal ends for beingemplaced on both forward and rearward sides of the wearers ears; atleast one of said straps is connected with each terminal end of thebifurcated ends; and said cap means has at least one exterior strip ofpile strap disposed along each side and extensive enough to afford acontinuous band for receiving the plurality of free ends of said strapsso as to effect the desired configuration of said body means whenemplaced about the wearers head; whereby the retainer can be employed incosmetic applications, or to retain in place bandages such asbandagesfollowin ear surgery, cosmetic surgery, and the like '1: a w a I

1. A retainer adapted for emplacement about the head of a wearer for usein cosmetic applications, in retaining bandages in place followingsurgery about the head and face of a patient, and the like; the retainercomprising: a. a non-slip head gear including: i. a cap means adaptedfor fitting a plurality of head sizes; ii. at least one hook stripdisposed on the interior of said cap means, said hook strip having aplurality of tiny hook elements protruding interiorly for engagementwith hair of a person wearing said head gear for preventing slippingthereof; and iii. at least one exterior strip of pile strap disposed onat least one exterior side of said cap; said pile strap having aplurality of upstanding loops of filamentary material extendingoutwardly for receiving a hooked strip on straps in removably fastenedrelationship; b. retainer body means having a mid section adapted forbeing emplaced about and beneath a chin of said wearer and havingconnected therewith at least one end structure defining a terminal stripfor being emplaced adjacent one of a wearer''s ears; said body meansbeing formed of a net that has elasticity along its respective fibersand greater elasticity along the bias of the fibers for being conformedto irregular contours; and c. a plurality of straps connected at one endwith said retainer body means and having disposed at the other end atleast one hook strip removably engaging said exterior pile strap on saidcap means; at least one each of said plurality of straps being connectedwith each terminal strip defined by said end structure.
 2. The retainerof claim 1 wherein a pair of neck straps are connected at one end withsaid retainer body means, one of said pair of neck straps having a hookstrip disposed at its free end and the other of said pair of neck strapshaving a pile strap disposed at its free end, said hook strip and saidpile strap being so disposed on their respective straps of said pair ofneck straps as to be removably fastened by pressing together, said hookstrip and said pile straps being extensive enough and being so locatedas to enable effecting a desired degree of tension in said retainer bodymeans rearward toward the rear of the wearer''s neck for a plurality ofsizes of necks.
 3. The retainer of claim 1 wherein at least one end ofsaid body retainer means has a bifurcated end structure defining twoterminal strips for being employed on both forward and rearward sides ofthe wearer''s ear.
 4. The retainer of claim 1 wherein a plurality ofsaid straps are connected with each terminal end for greater flexibilityin encompassing and retaining in place a bandage following surgery. 5.The retainer of claim 1 wherein said retainer body means and saidplurality of straps are integrally connected together.
 6. The retainerof claim 1 wherein said terminal strip of said retainer body meanscovers the wearer''s ear.
 7. The retainer of claim 6 wherein said bodyretainer means has both of its ends extending to cover both of thewearer''s ears.
 8. The retainer of claim 1 wherein said retainer bodymeans is extensive enough at its mid section to effect a neck portionfor extending downwardly on the wearer''s neck.
 9. The retainer of claim1 wherein said cap means has a plurality of hook strips disposed on itsinterior for engagement with the hair of a person wearing it.
 10. Theretainer of claim 1 wherein said cap means has a plurality of pilestraps disposed on its exterior.
 11. The retainer of claim 10 whereinsaid cap means has at least one said exterior strip of pile strapdisposed along each side and extensive enough to afford a continuousband for receiving a wide variety of hook strip configurations such asformed by having a pile strap connected with each terminal end of saidretainer body means.
 12. The retainer of claim 11 wherein said cap meanshas a plurality of exterior strips of pile strap fixedly disposed alongeach side at predetermined locations for receiving a predetermined hookstrip configuration.
 13. The retainer of claim 1 wherein said cap meanshas an area of at least 8 square inches for being disposed over the topand rearward portion of the wearer''s head to lessen the stressconcentration and alleviate the tendency to cause headaches.
 14. Theretainer of claim 1 wherein each end of said retainer body means has abifurcated end structure defining two terminal ends for being emplacedon both forward and rearward sides of the wearer''s ears; at least oneof said straps is connected with each terminal end of the bifurcatedends; and said cap means has at least one exterior strip of pile strapdisposed along each side and extensive enough to afford a continuousband for receiving the plurality of free ends of said straps so as toeffect the desired configuration of said body means when emplaced aboutthe wearer''s head; whereby the retainer can be employed in cosmeticapplications, or to retain in place bandages such as bandages followingear surgery, cosmetic surgery, and the like.